Plans unveiled for billion-dollar Jupiters resort expansion

The Star Entertainment Group’s plans for a new-look Jupiters resort on the Gold Coast have been revealed in a master plan that includes a new $500 million hotel and apartment tower.

In February the hotel and casino operator announced it was planning to add another tower at the iconic site, including apartments and a 4.5-star hotel, in a development that would add to the $345 million already spent upgrading the resort’s existing rooms and building a 17-storey luxury suite hotel tower.

The master plan, revealed this week, confirms Star’s intention to build a 200m hotel and apartment tower, and also signals the potential to develop the site further to create a resort with five hotel and/or apartment buildings, a huge recreational deck with water features, tropical gardens, pools and spa, and new entertainment facilities.

The Star Entertainment Group’s plans for Jupiters Resort include a huge deck and recreational area.

Star is currently attempting to gain planning approval for the development from both the City of Gold Coast and the Queensland government.

The new tower would be built in a partnership between Star Entertainment Group, Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium – the trio of companies behind the $3 billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development.

Star managing director and CEO Matt Bekier says the company’s plans for the Gold Coast site are a part of its quest to become “Australia’s leading integrated resort company”.

“This proposed master plan concept is about building on the exciting tourism forecasts we are seeing for the Gold Coast, with much-needed new infrastructure to deliver an international world-class integrated resort on the coast without the need for any additional poker machines,” Bekier says.

The development will bring the total number of rooms at Jupiters to almost 1400.

If the master plan gains council and State Government approval, construction would begin in 2017 and would bring the resort’s total number of rooms to almost 1400.

“We are firmly committed to the Gold Coast. We are already well advanced on transforming the property through the hotel refurbishment and new restaurants,” Bekier says.

”Later this year we will rebrand to The Star Gold Coast as our new six-star all-suite tower takes shape.”

The proposed new tower will be house entirely on Broadbeach Island, and is expected to generate more than 1000 jobs during the construction phase and lift Jupiters’ workforce to about 2300 once completed.